Vermont Castings 1945 Defiant Questions

[grobinson2]

Good morning Everyone,
I have been a coal stove nut for a while but two years ago my wife and I switched to a whole house coal stoker boiler that we currently use corn and prune pits to heat our home. Since we no longer needed a coal stove to heat the house we switched to wood for a nice fire now and then or if the power were to go out. We always liked the look of the Vermont Castings Defiant stoves made in the last 20 years an settled on a 1945 Cat model. I redid the entire stove by changing all gaskets, glass, refractory and of course paint. The stove is very tight and looks great but the glass in the doors gets blacked out with in 10 minutes of burning. We are burning oak that is five years dried. I did not replace the cat but it looked like it was still in excellent condition and I don't really see why that would effect keeping the glass clean. I have watched lots of you tube videos where the Defiant and Defiant Encore are being burned and everyone seems to have nice clean glass. Does anyone know if the Everurn models are better at keeping the glass clean then my Cat model? Or does the Encore do a better job as it has a different air wash. Any help would be great.

Thanks again,
Glenn

 

[webbie]

I would say that the older Cat VC (plain cat, not everburn) got a lot dirtier than the newer models....just a guess, but we sold a lot of the older Encores and clean glass was never the main selling point. VC tried in various ways (I think they used double glass in some encores?) to keep it clean, but it didn't stay that way in most installations. This is probably due to the slower type of burn in this model.

 

[BrowningBAR]

The stove is very tight and looks great but the glass in the doors gets blacked out with in 10 minutes of burning. We are burning oak that is five years dried.

Not sure what to tell you. The Defiant glass stays just as clean (or dirty) as the other stoves I have, and do, run. Same with the Encore. Both stoves do have a tendency to collect a lot of fly ash and end up with a dusty haze.

But, neither stove blackens quickly.

 

[begreen]

Are you getting a pretty vigorous fire and good heat from the stove? If not, the wood could be damp and cooling down the fire. Try giving the fire a bit more air.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Are you getting a pretty vigorous fire and good heat from the stove? If not, the wood could be damp and cooling down the fire. Try giving the fire a bit more air.

Agreed.

What griddle temp is OP switching to cat mode?

 

[grobinson2]

Thanks guys for responding. I have been burning it on the low side and will put my stove thermometers on the stove today. I did not put them on so as to let the paint cure but as said will slap them on there today. Is anyone using aftermarket stove glass or other glass other then what VC sells? I got it from the stove shop up the road and it does not have the infrared coating that VC talks about.

Thanks again,
Glenn

 

[Charles1981]

My Glass stays clean for about 3-5 days before starting a slowly progressive fly ash deposit. However, I burn odd size pieces sometimes and at an angle and pretty frequently as the wood in the stove starts to burn and settle down a piece or two inevitable touches the glass or gets to close or a coal get pushed forwards onto the glass and say bye bye to clear fire view. Kind of sucks but I will let the stove clear down to small embers every other week or so and clean it with water, newspaper, and then wet paper towels. Its been easy to clean, but it is a little PIA.

 

[grobinson2]

Hummm... So as I have had more time to play around with the stove I am getting the hang of things. I would say this thing burns kind of like a cross between a coal stove and a wood stove. If I let the fire burn and do not engage the damper/CAT my glass stays rather clean but as soon as I engage the damper it starts to cloud up. I am guessing I may need a new cat as this one came with the stove and while it looks fine to the naked eye even after I engage the cat I am still getting smoke coming out of my chimney. On a side note I did speak with the BAC rep yesterday who informed me that Vermont Casting is now owned once again by the original owners and is honoring there warranty's on previously made units.

Thanks again,
Glenn

 

[dmmoss51]

Hey Glen,

Good idea to check the CAT. Does it have a temperature probe fore the cat. It sounds like with 5 year old wood its not a moisture issue as much as an air issue. Your probably burning too low too early and / or engaging the cat at too low of a temperature.

Does burning a hotter fire help clear the glass up a bit? I know when I accidently black out my windows, I can burn a lot of it off by burning a little hotter on the next cycle.

Dave

 

[grobinson2]

Dave,
I would like to have a CAT probe but am unsure where to get one or where I would need to install it. I know when I took the stove all apart and cleaned everything out, on the back of the stove under a little sheet metal plate there was a probe that went through the back of the stove and the refractory. This operates a little gate via a bi metal spring. I have had the stove up to 700 F and while it clears off the glass a little it does not really make it clean. Normally I run the stove at around 500 F with the reading being taken between on the top of the stove between the griddle and the flue collar. The time when I had the temp spike was when I just put too much wood in the stove and once it caught it really went up fast.

Thanks again,
Glenn

 

[BrowningBAR]

If I let the fire burn and do not engage the damper/CAT my glass stays rather clean

If you continue to burn this way, long term, you will warp internal parts of the stove.

 

[grobinson2]

According to VC as long as I do not over fire the stove I will not damage it in any way no matter how it is burned.

Thanks,
Glenn